I first came upon Richmond, Virginia’s Cretins through their 2013 demo. You’d be hard pressed to find a nastier or uglier piece of rough hardcore or what is basically the musical equivalent of not showering for three weeks.Later I found out that Sam Richardson from the band runs Feel It records, one of the better punk labels in the US. Good dude. Good band.So I was super excited to hear Cretins’ new 7” coming out on Deranged Record. The record is called Meat, but this ain't no prime rib, more a sinewy and greasy bit of decomposed flesh that needs generous amounts of ketchup to mask it’s rank odour. It’s delicious.Listen to the track "Can't Think Like You" and read a quick interview with Sam.Noisey: Where’s the best place to purchase meat in Richmond?
Sam Richardson: Hahah. Well there seem to be plenty of craft butcheries popping up all over the city, but cretins like myself prefer the cheap and convenient meat departments of supermarkets like Kroger. If we're talking fast food, I like to hit up the drive-thru at Cook Out for a burger.I’m attracted to Cretins for your strong misanthropic Cleveland hardcore vibe. Is there much of that going on in Richmond?
Nah. Richmond is a lot different from Cleveland. If you're attributing that "misanthropic vibe" to other bands kicking around in Richmond, you're not going to find it. It's just not here. There are very few hardcore punk bands left in the city, and new bands are usually just formed from an incestuous pool of folks that have been around for years. Any hint of misanthropic genius is usually factored out by how shitty most of the bands in Richmond are to begin with. In general, I find Richmond to be a very beautiful, laid-back, and easygoing city. It's not the same kind of environment flush with abandoned industry, high crime, and shitty weather that Cleveland draws it's great rocknroll lineage from.You have a strong relationship with the fellas at Cool Death records. What do you think of Aussie punk at the moment?
The Australian punk scene has been kicking down some of the best bands, records, and zines for quite some time now. Bands like Ausmuteants, Power, Brando's Island, Total Control, Rule of Thirds, Helta Skelta, and Royal Headache have all released incredible records in the past year or two. I'm glad there are labels like Cool Death pushing Australian punk to the masses, and beyond that, it has been nothing but cool to meet a lot of the people behind these bands and zines. Truly classy folks.You went out on a 16-day tour late last year. Did the shows and tour give you faith in the current state of punk in the US?
With a few exceptions, I'd say that was a really successful tour. I purposely booked about half the dates in smaller cities to play to new crowds and would say this definitely worked to our advantage. Places like Burlington, Vermont and Murray, Kentucky really surprised us, not only with their hospitality - but also their genuine reaction to our music. These places maybe only had 1-2 local bands, but the crowds were just as good, if not better, than cities five times their size. I also have to say that Rochester and Cleveland were both nuts. True Rustbelt destinations for rocknroll. We never play for crowds in Richmond like that. There were a few cities that didn't deliver as much of a good time, but in general I think the East coast and Midwest have carved out some great punk scenes.
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Sam Richardson: Hahah. Well there seem to be plenty of craft butcheries popping up all over the city, but cretins like myself prefer the cheap and convenient meat departments of supermarkets like Kroger. If we're talking fast food, I like to hit up the drive-thru at Cook Out for a burger.I’m attracted to Cretins for your strong misanthropic Cleveland hardcore vibe. Is there much of that going on in Richmond?
Nah. Richmond is a lot different from Cleveland. If you're attributing that "misanthropic vibe" to other bands kicking around in Richmond, you're not going to find it. It's just not here. There are very few hardcore punk bands left in the city, and new bands are usually just formed from an incestuous pool of folks that have been around for years. Any hint of misanthropic genius is usually factored out by how shitty most of the bands in Richmond are to begin with. In general, I find Richmond to be a very beautiful, laid-back, and easygoing city. It's not the same kind of environment flush with abandoned industry, high crime, and shitty weather that Cleveland draws it's great rocknroll lineage from.You have a strong relationship with the fellas at Cool Death records. What do you think of Aussie punk at the moment?
The Australian punk scene has been kicking down some of the best bands, records, and zines for quite some time now. Bands like Ausmuteants, Power, Brando's Island, Total Control, Rule of Thirds, Helta Skelta, and Royal Headache have all released incredible records in the past year or two. I'm glad there are labels like Cool Death pushing Australian punk to the masses, and beyond that, it has been nothing but cool to meet a lot of the people behind these bands and zines. Truly classy folks.You went out on a 16-day tour late last year. Did the shows and tour give you faith in the current state of punk in the US?
With a few exceptions, I'd say that was a really successful tour. I purposely booked about half the dates in smaller cities to play to new crowds and would say this definitely worked to our advantage. Places like Burlington, Vermont and Murray, Kentucky really surprised us, not only with their hospitality - but also their genuine reaction to our music. These places maybe only had 1-2 local bands, but the crowds were just as good, if not better, than cities five times their size. I also have to say that Rochester and Cleveland were both nuts. True Rustbelt destinations for rocknroll. We never play for crowds in Richmond like that. There were a few cities that didn't deliver as much of a good time, but in general I think the East coast and Midwest have carved out some great punk scenes.
Pre-order 'Meat' now through Deranged records.